Overview

Insert these space balls in your rail and stile grooves to center raised panels in their frames, thereby ensuring flawless frame and panel assemblies. The balls are soft enough to allow expansion and contraction, but firm enough to keep the panel from rattling. They are also designed to help eliminate cracking glue joints. 8-10 space balls per door recommended.

What's included

(100) Space Ball Raised Panel Door Spacers

Technical Details

Material: Synthetic Rubber

Diameter: 0.26''

Allow 5/32” spacing and use 8-10 space balls per door.

If you are using a curved bottom dado slot this spacing must be increased to a minimum of 7/32'' on all sides.

8 to 10 space balls are recommended per door

Weight (lbs): 0.0300

Product Warnings

WARNING This product can expose you to chemicals which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/product

Recommended by a friend for raised panel doors. I've now use them anytime I glue a solid panel inside a frame and they work very well. I didn't think I would use them as much as I have, but they are very handy to have in the shop.

Recommended by a friend for raised panel doors. I've now use them anytime I glue a solid panel inside a frame and they work very well. I didn't think I would use them as much as I have, but they are very handy to have in the shop.

If You're going to stain your doors how can you keep the glue from ruining your staining process?

A shopper
on Apr 14, 2015

BEST ANSWER:The key is to use only just enough glue to avoid excessive squeeze out. This will come with experience. If you do get squeeze out,(and you generally want some to ensure the joint is fully glued ), wipe off the excess glue immediately with a damp rag. You could prestain the parts but this limits any sanding of the joints after assembly.I have heard of some people taping each side of the joint but getting the tape in the corners is not practical. Hope this helps.

BEST ANSWER:The key is to use only just enough glue to avoid excessive squeeze out. This will come with experience. If you do get squeeze out,(and you generally want some to ensure the joint is fully glued ), wipe off the excess glue immediately with a damp rag. You could prestain the parts but this limits any sanding of the joints after assembly.I have heard of some people taping each side of the joint but getting the tape in the corners is not practical. Hope this helps.

Lance is correct. This is an empty, nonsense requirement (in most cases) for almost anything made of plastic and/or an accessory to finishing & building in CA. Basically, they've taken a very legitimate concern and watered it down to the point where the statement is not worth the ink it's printed with (...said ink also causing cancer, by the way).

Lance is correct. This is an empty, nonsense requirement (in most cases) for almost anything made of plastic and/or an accessory to finishing & building in CA. Basically, they've taken a very legitimate concern and watered it down to the point where the statement is not worth the ink it's printed with (...said ink also causing cancer, by the way).

I have looked at this post and it said to use 5/32" space and I have called Rockler and they said use 1/8 inch I would like to make sure before I cut the panels P.S. do you subtract this measurement from each side of the panel ??? Thank you for any info Greg

A shopper
on May 27, 2015

BEST ANSWER:Yes the 5/32" is what is recommended and yes that is on each side. You can go with 1/8" and if it feels too tight just shave a little off the balls with a single edge razor blade. I sometimes make a test panel out of cheap 1/4" veneer I've got extra of to check my fit first.

BEST ANSWER:Yes the 5/32" is what is recommended and yes that is on each side. You can go with 1/8" and if it feels too tight just shave a little off the balls with a single edge razor blade. I sometimes make a test panel out of cheap 1/4" veneer I've got extra of to check my fit first.

I found either should work, but make sure you do Adrian assembly first. It can depend on moisture content of the lumber. Tighter fit if wood is moist, because the lumber should shrink. The opposite if the lumber is dry. Make it tight to start, and adjust as necessary.

They work pretty well but it would be nice if they were smaller, say 1/8" diameter. The large size sometimes limits their usefulness and we usually have to cut them in half. Maybe you could offer two sizes.

I have recently made 23 cabinet doors for my shop. Space balls center the panel and keep it from rattling. They accommodate seasonal wood movement. They are super easy to use. Just create a slot of .25 inches and insert.

Great product. A must have if you are building cabinet doors. It prevents panel from moving around and no rattle or shake. I like to cut them in half so there's no stress on joints when panel expands or contracts . It keeps panel centered in opening

i have used these on numerous cabinet doors,i trim the panels 1/8" per side not 5/32" never had a problem!!! i normally use cutters with atleast 1/2" depth for panels.i read some other reviews before writing this,i will agree with the person that cuts the balls in half & cuts the panels 1/16" as far as the balls being too hard,i dont agree, i can flatten them between my fingers,so buck up..they work great!!! these are the latest doors for a garage project 32" t x 19"w x 20 doors never a complaint!!

Great product. The diameter is just slightly larger than a quarter of an inch which means that when placed into the routed groove to receive the panel, it stays there while all the pieces are put together.

Eliminates panel rattle and keeps panels centered up nice in frames. Have to make sure panels are not too tight where you compress those little space balls too much. Always use these things evry time I make doors and panels, they work great. Only thing that was off-putting was the little sticker on the bag mentioning that these little balls contain a small amount of lead. Most likely not a significant amount of lead to cause illness

These rubber balls fit perfectly in the 1/4&quot; groove of my raised panel doors without rolling around during assembly. Just be sure to dry fit the entire door to make sure they are not too tight. My panels do not rattle when closing the doors. I made 10 doors the first time I used these and had no problem.

Something so simple, yet so practical. The packaging didn't have a lot of info on spacing requirements, but I found more info at .spaceballs.com Apparently other smaller sizes are available directly if you don't mind buying them by the thousand.

These little rubber balls do the trick. You do need to leave the space for them, because they don't compress a lot. I made an octagonal tabletop 24" wide. Hopefully thes little rubber balls allow the table panel to expand and contract inside the surrounding frame.

Only issue I had was keeping them in place during glue up. I ended up gluing them in position.

I am building raised panel kitchen cabinet doors for the second time and thought I would give space balls a try. The last time I just used strings of clear caulking squeezed out onto waxed paper and then cut into short pieces after it dried. That actually worked quite well but using the space balls was much quicker and more convenient.They fit into the rails and stiles just tightly enough not to fall out when assembling and gluing up the doors. The raised panels also seemed to fit more snugly than my previous method. I would highly recommend this item to anyone building raised panel doors. The only slight complaint I would mention is that I would have preferred them to be just a bit softer as they are quite firm.

I used these space balls on a number of panels and they seem to work great at keeping the panel centered. The first time I used them I didn't allow enough room for the balls, they don't compress that far and that easily. So, you just have to be aware that the balls are pretty firm rubber and will not compress that much.

The principle behind these is a sound one. Based on that, and on actually using them, I can't see why anyone would assemble any raised panel door without them. I usually size my raised panels so that I compress the balls a small amount. Too much compression makes gluing the rails and stile a wee bit tough. But no matter how you do it, these things make the whole process a heckuva lot easier.

If you leave 1/8 inch total gap (1/16in per side) and then cut each ball in half before dropping in the slot it will be perfect. You want to keep the door from rattling while leaving room for seasonal expansion, not risk blowing out your hard work. I used a Freud raised panel bit set, and built to their specs. When dry fitting it became obvious that the balls were too big.

I am using these for the first time. I am building a computer desk with raised panel construction. They keep the panel centered and I know the panels will remain that way as they move over time. I am also making raised panel doors which will not rattle.

I found these too large to be useful. The space balls pushed out on the rails to the point that it was too difficult to assemble. If offered in different sizes then you could use the one to fit the gap inside the groove of the rail between the rail and the panel. I may just put a dab of silicon caulking in the groove to do the job.

Our price is lower than the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price." As a result, we cannot show you the price in catalog or the product page.

You have no obligation to purchase the product once you know the price. You can simply remove the item from your cart.

Our price is lower than the manufacturer's "minimum advertised price." As a result, we cannot show you the price in catalog or the product page.

You have no obligation to purchase the product once you know the price. You can simply remove the item from your cart.

What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."

- Daniel F.

What People are Saying:

I have been using Rockler for years, your products are always the best that can be purchased and your prices are very reasonable. Ann you have always done your best to make me feel as though I was your very best customer. Thank you for great service."